Dr. Bob Atchley sings during his performance at the Celebrating Seniors Closing Luncheon on May 21, 2015 at Concordia University in River Forest.

Dr. Bob Atchley sings during his performance at the Celebrating Seniors Closing Luncheon on May 21, 2015 at Concordia University in River Forest. (Posted by Matt Baron/Inside Edge PR, Community Contributor)

Community Contributor Matt Baron/Inside Edge PR

Serving others can be something you do in a moment.

And serving others, if you do it in a healthy way and avoid burning out, can be something you do for a lifetime.

Those were among the messages conveyed soulfully by Dr. Bob Atchley as the featured speaker (and singer) at the 2015 Celebrating Seniors Closing Luncheon on Thursday, May 21st. The event, sponsored by Aon, attracted nearly 150 people to the Koehneke Community Center, 7400 Augusta St., on the River Forest campus of Concordia University.

Atchley's keynote address, dubbed "The Spirit of Service: Presence, Perspective and Action," came before a cross-section of community leaders from throughout Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park and capped the 5th Annual Celebrating Seniors Week.

Consisting of a weeklong series of nearly 50 events in the three communities, Celebrating Seniors Week raised money for seniors in need while honoring and celebrating those who are 60-plus years old through educational and entertainment activities.

Poetically, Atchley's performance teacher in Colorado when he revived a folk-singing career a decade ago was Rebecca Folsom, another presenter during Celebrating Seniors Week who wowed an audience at the Oak Park Public Library.

Atchley interspersed original songs like "We're Awake," "Searching for Soul," "Pay Close Attention" and "Ms. Dynamite" with principles delivered by spoken word. Since 2008, he has written 50 songs and recorded more than 30 with insights drawn from his 75 years of life and half-century in the study of gerontology.

He shared the story of one of his music instructors, Livingston Taylor-younger brother of James Taylor-who told Atchley and his peers, "You all think that you're artistes, and that the big thing you are doing is wrapped up in your art. You're not. You're in the service business. What you do is go out there and serve people."

He noted that he has found a correlation between those who have a strong spiritual core and interest in being of service with a higher level of life satisfaction.

"Almost anything you can do has the potential to evoke a sense of spirituality, to kindle your spirit," Atchley added. "Each of us has a slightly different array of things that we get spiritual comfort from."

One of his protégés, Dr. Lydia Manning, invited Atchley to be the keynote presenter. She is Associate Professor of Gerontology and Director of the recently launched Center for Gerontology at Concordia University.

Atchley observed that there are "endless opportunities to be of service," from the grocery store line or pumping gas to walking down the street and volunteering for any given cause.

"Service is a stance, an attitude we have about what we are doing," he said. "…the action is almost always based on the impulse to care."

Another skill he urged the audience to nurture is that of being patient and not jumping to conclusions about how to solve a problem or address a situation.

"Waiting is not something we're really good at, but I would recommend it. Waiting is a really good discipline," Atchley observed. "How many situations have you been in, if you had waited just a little while, what was needed would have become much clearer than it was if you tried to do it too soon?"

During the luncheon, Celebrating Seniors founder Jim Flanagan presented the Celebrating Seniors Volunteer of the Year trophy to three people who played vital roles in the planning and organizing of this year's weeklong celebration.

They are Manning, as well as Nick Preys, who spearheaded the "60 Over 60" committee, which honored a record-high 84 men and women this year; and Pat Koko, who has been a mainstay volunteer since Celebrating Seniors' inception.

"What she has done for our coalition, what she does as a volunteer, and what she does for our community, Pat is without question, one of the most amazing people I have ever come across," Flanagan said.

Manning was instrumental in adding a level of creativity and fun to the events that had not previously been achieved, he added. Her influence spanned a variety of programs, including intergenerational gardening, building resilience, the screening of "The Age of Love" documentary on speed-dating, as well as Celebrating Seniors' own speed-dating event at Skrine Chops in Forest Park on May 20th.

"She's done a wonderful job," said Flanagan. "She's brought us new life."

Flanagan, chairman of the Oak Park/River Forest Township Senior Services Committee, founded the Celebrating Seniors Coalition in 2010. The not-for-profit organization draws from individuals, businesses, congregations, government agencies and other individuals and organizations that serve the senior population.

Through its first four years, the Coalition netted $25,000. Those funds are used to support a variety of initiatives to benefit seniors.

Celebrating Seniors has four main objectives: to provide financial support for seniors in need, to facilitate cooperation between the business community, government agencies and non-profit organizations for the benefit of the senior population; to promote senior groups and organizations that serve persons 60 and older; and to raise public awareness of issues affecting seniors.

For nearly 25 years, Atchley was the Director of the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. From 1988 to 1990, he was the president of the 10,000-member American Society on Aging. In his opening remarks, Atchley described Celebrating Seniors as "a monumental effort."

"The ambition of it, the audacity of it, the creativity of it, the soul and spirit of it-it's all cool," he said. "And I want to acknowledge all of you for being a part of it and I want to acknowledge especially the people who have organized it."